War

BELOW The famous Alexander Mosaic from the House of the Faun in Pompeii. It depicts the encounter between Alexander (on the left) and Darius (on the right) on the battlefield of either Issus or Gaugamela. Like virtually all our source material for Alexander, it is mythologising propaganda that offers no real clues as to what actually happened.

The Battle of Gaugamela, 1 October 331 BC

Neil Faulkner analyses one of history’s greatest tactical triumphs.

BELOW The White Monument in Syria. It was previously thought to be a mass grave, rather than an organised memorial.

‘World’s oldest war memorial’ identified in Syria

Archaeologists have stated that a monument at the Banat-Bazi complex is over 4,000 years old.

The Shortest History of War

From slings and arrows to cyberwarfare, conflict is innate to human nature despite the peace much of the modern world now enjoys. In the latest addition to the bestselling ‘shortest history’ series, historian Gwynne Dyer summarises the story of conflict…

BELOW Overlooking the First World War era airfield at Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, in 1918. Most of the construction seen here was temporary.

Stringbags to Star Wars: an archaeology of airfields

Why should we study airfields – and do these sites even count as archaeology? Bob Clarke makes a case for investigating and preserving such sites as important drivers of social change, as well as relics of military history.

Sheffield Castle: archaeology, archives, regeneration, 1927-2018

Sheffield Castle is a rare archaeological treat put together by a university team working with local authorities and professional archaeologists. It is about a place that has topographical and historical meaning thanks to recent well-designed rescue excavations and sleuth-like digging…

HMS Glatton

Sometimes poor quality-control can be as lethal as bad design – this was certainly true in the case of HMS Glatton. On the outbreak of war in August 1914, the Admiralty began buying warships that British shipyards were building for…

Observing the observers: exploring cold war archaeology in Berkshire

For most of the second half of the 20th century, the threat of nuclear war permeated the world. What can archaeology add to our understanding of this unique period, which still lies within living memory? Bob Clarke reports.

The Battle for Hastings: searching for the truth about 1066

Controversy has recently flared over the location of the Battle of Hastings. In an exclusive Channel 4 special, Time Team investigates, undertaking the first ever dig on the traditional site and assessing the rival claimants, as Assistant Producer Alex Rowson reports.

Isandlwana, 1879: Humbling the Great White Queen

‘I can’t understand it!’ That was British commander Lord Chelmsford’s response. Isandlwana was perhaps the greatest defeat inflicted on British redcoats by native warriors in imperial history. Zulu War expert Ian Knight, who has published a major new study, tackles the key question: what went wrong for the British at Isandlwana?